The Dark Spire

[Ahcruna]

I've been playing it every now and then since it's release and damn this thing is hard. not so much the actual grind that comes with games like this, but the puzzles are really sadistic at times.

I'm loving it though and the game has 2 modes you can play it in (retro and normal). The retro mode turns the game in to a NES like game complete with music and visuals which you can change on the fly from the settings menu. The over-all art and music is pretty nice too.

heh, anyone else tried it? or would just like to talk about other games like this (such as Eye of the Beholder and so on)

So any other fans of dungeon crawlers here? =)

[wildweasel]

While the game itself isn't quite to my taste (I haven't quite figured out how the battle system determines things like turn order or whether or not you miss, which is really frustrating when your party gets slaughtered by one goblin because everybody is missing their attacks), I love the art style and music in the "Modern" setting.

[Ahcruna]

yeah I found the battle mechanics a bit confusing the first tries which ended in the party dying.

This might help out a bit, but as far as I remember it's not fully documented by the developer to 100% how it all works.

http://thedarkspire.wikidot.com/mechanics

after a while though I got the hang of it and the game was pretty fun, that is until I got to the 2nd floor and got stuck with the puzzles. still fun though but it takes a while to figure them out.

Still haven't beaten the game yet, but I came to the 7th floor today, which was the reason I felt like posting about the game =)

[Viewtiful-Chris]

Very, very cruel game. Can certainly be seen as Wizardry's DS grandson.

And it's waaaaaaay better than that Etrian Odyssey shit.

[Jodwin]

Viewtiful-Chris said:

Can certainly be seen as Wizardry's DS grandson.

There's actually a real DS Wizardry game in Japan. It was the most expensive used DS game a month ago in Akihabara...


Anyway, never heard of The Dark Spire, but it's by Success and I liked Rondo of Swords, so I'll keep this in mind.

[wildweasel]

I must cement how awesome the music is in this game:

[Ahcruna]

WildWeasel said:

I must cement how awesome the music is in this game

hehe. The basement theme is actually my favorite track in the game. =)
I like the 4th floor theme too, the story events in that floor go hand in hand with the music. (pretty messed up floor)

Jodwin said:

Anyway, never heard of The Dark Spire, but it's by Success and I liked Rondo of Swords, so I'll keep this in mind.

You should give it a try, though be warned, it's pretty brutal at times.

[Viewtiful-Chris]

It's fairly awesome how there's two soundtracks: Modern and Retro.

Considering the retail copy comes with the soundtrack on CD, maybe I should actually buy it so I can play an actual wireframe Wizardry game to the music of Dark Spire.

I haven't played Dark Spire in a while seeing as it gradually lost my interest (that and Dragon Quest V / Pokemans HeartGold / Chrono Trigger DS / goddamn the DS has way too many RPGs).

[Use]

Viewtiful-Chris said:

I haven't played Dark Spire in a while seeing as it gradually lost my interest (that and Dragon Quest V / Pokemans HeartGold / Chrono Trigger DS / goddamn the DS has way too many RPGs).

You could easily lose half your lifespan on that thing.

[Viewtiful-Chris]

Use3D said:

You could easily lose half your lifespan on that thing.

Goddamn yes my CycloDS Evolution is the best $60 I've ever spent.

Now if only DS homebrew wasn't completely dead at this point. R.I.P. DSDoom, Warcraft: Tower Defense, and... oh wait.

ScummVM DS is still active.

[Ahcruna]

Viewtiful-Chris said:

I haven't played Dark Spire in a while seeing as it gradually lost my interest

You should give it another try, It's hard at first, but once you get the hang of it you will have fun. In my opinion you will get a heck of a good feeling if you manage to solve a puzzle without getting help.

The one puzzle that got me stuck for a long time was the damn orb puzzle in the 6th floor.


Anyway, I like the Boos battle theme too. Wish it could have lasted longer though, since it's a matter of who kill's who faster. Take your time in a boss battle and your party will be annihilated.

[EDIT]
the first 2 floors are actually the ones that take the longest time to figure out (counting the basement too)